Officially making the announcement in Camden Monday, Gov. Chris Christie said it was time to hit the “reset button” on the city’s underperforming public schools.

“We are failing the children of Camden,” said Christie, who had a humble tone while surrounded by local officials gathered at the Woodrow Wilson High School. “We are breaking our promise to them.”

Christie said he didn’t “come to this decision easily” and waited three years to see if Camden could turn around its schools. A state report in August on Camden’s schools prompted him to further consider a takeover strategy, as did meetings with state officials a month ago, he said.

The Camden school district was also poised to make a pivotal decision—appointing a new superintendent after the previous one resigned last year. The local school board was set to interview three finalists for superintendent on Monday.

“We’re on the cusp of transformational change that was put upon us to do,” said Sean Brown, a Camden school board member. “It seems like right at that moment the opportunity is being snatched away from us.”

Now, if the takeover is approved, the state will be in charge of appointing a new superintendent after a nationwide search, according to information released by Christie’s office. New Jersey will also have oversight of Camden’s curriculum, teacher selection, finances and classroom resources.

The takeover has the blessing of powerful South Jersey politicians, including de facto party boss George Norcross—an insurance executive who attended Monday’s announcement. Senate President Stephen Sweeney said in a statement Monday that the “time has come” for the takeover.

To move forward, the state must go through the courts for the takeover. The process could last until the fall, officials said.

The New Jersey Department of Education currently runs the Newark, Paterson and Jersey City school districts and was the first state to do so when it assumed controlled of Jersey City’s schools in 1989. Paterson lost its local control in 1991 and Newark in 1995.

Local officials have petitioned to resume local control of the districts, but the state hasn’t relented in the more than two decades since.

Camden’s schools perform at some of the lowest benchmarks in the state. Out of 26 schools, 23 are at the bottom 5% in the state terms of performance measures, and less than half of students graduate in four years, according to the state.

“We will exert whatever control we need to exert to try to bring in success,” Christie said.